Abstract

This CEPS Task Force report analyses, from different perspectives, the huge amounts of aid that were given to the financial sector in the EU in response to the financial crisis. It finds that that there are vast differences in the way member states have offered and implemented aid to the financial sector, calling into question the coherence of the single market. It also discusses the approach followed by the European Commission on the basis of the competences foreseen in the EU Treaty and poses some alternative options. A final section examines state aid in the global context, questioning whether the existing international tools for ensuring a level playing field for banks are sufficient, given the global nature of the industry.